Calrome Danger
by winterfirestorm
Summary: Ten and Rose visit the peaceful planet of Calrome but things go horribly wrong as someone is after the TARDIS and will do anything to get it.


Title: Calrome Danger

Author: preciouslilme

Rating: PG (for one naughty word)

Characters: Ten and Rose (very slight Ten/Rose)

Summary: The Doctor and Rose visit the peaceful planet of Calrome but things go horribly wrong as someone is after the TARDIS and will do anything to get it.

Author's Note: My first DW fic (though not my first ever fic) Feedback would be lovely as I'd love to know what I did wrong/right.

"Calrome."

"What?" Rose asked, looking up from where she was holding down the levers the Doctor had told her to.

"Out there." He said, nodding towards the TARDIS door. "Calrome. It's one of the few planets considered to be almost perfect."

"Perfect? Why?"

"They haven't been involved in any wars for the last five thousand years and their economy is thriving on a universal scale, even though they have not become particularly modernised." The Doctor gestured towards the door. "After you."

Rose walked over and opened the door. They had landed on the edge of what looked like a village. It looked very similar to Earth but an ethereal quality lay over the world. The grass was greener, the sky bluer. It reminded Rose of the worlds created in Enid Blyton's books. She half expected to see fairies and pixies.

"It's beautiful." She breathed

"Well come and look around!"

She followed the Doctor as he led her into the village, taking in everything around her. The small round houses were made of something she couldn't identify, but their thatched rooves looked very much like hay.

"Why does everything here look like Earth?" Rose asked.

"It's in a solar system relatively close to yours. They are much older though and visited your planet when it was only just beginning. One of the founders of this planet took a liking to Earth and courted a human. Most people here are his distant ancestors. He brought back a lot of different plants and animals so he could be reminded of Earth. This planet was not always so beautiful."

"You mean the people here are human?" Rose said incredulously.

"Distantly, yes. They have a very similar appearance to you but have slight physical differences and a much more advanced functioning."

The Doctor nodded towards the Calromians who began to leave their houses and begin their work for the day. Rose noted their much bigger eyes, smaller figures and…

"They don't have ears." Rose said, more to herself than to him.

"No. They feel the vibrations of speech rather than actually hear it."

"Can I help you?" A male voice came from behind them.

The Doctor and Rose turned simultaneously.

"No, we're just visiting." The Doctor replied. Rose remained silent, taking in the stranger. He was perfect. At least to her. Dark brown hair slightly shorter than the Doctors, hazel eyes and a nice figure. He was handsome from this features, but not spectacularly so, until she looked closer. His eyes looked as if they literally held the stars. He was not typically handsome and yet there was something about him. He reminded her vaguely of the Doctor.

"I thought so. I didn't recognise you from any town gatherings. Would you like me to show you around? I'm Druem."

"Same old Calromians then. Always hospitable. I'm the Doctor, this is Rose. Lead away." The Doctor grinned and Rose noted that she didn't feel the butterflies that she had in the past for it. She shrugged the thought away. He was in a new body after all; she couldn't be expected to adjust, or even to feel exactly the same, straight away.

As Druem showed them around the town Rose realised that she wasn't really paying attention. Usually she was fascinated by the way different species lived, but now she only could watch Druem and listen to the slight singing rhythm of his voice.

"…and that's all of out town." He finished. "You're welcome to join me tonight at the tavern tonight for the festivities. We're celebrating the first harvest of the year."

"We'd love too." Rose said quickly before the Doctor could disagree. She wanted to see Druem again.

"Why did you do that?" the Doctor demanded when they returned to the TARDIS.

"Do what?"

"Agree to go to their celebrations."

"I thought it'd be a good idea. Mingling with the locals and all that."

"That'd be alright if they_ were_ locals."

"What do you mean?"

"I don't know yet, but something wasn't right about him." He walked over to a trunk, in which he kept numerous gadgets that he had picked up along his travels, and began searching through it. "He was much more humanlike than the others I've seen before."

"But you said yourself that they were related to us, maybe he's just closer linked or something."

The Doctor shook his head. "They haven't bred with humans for centuries. If anything they should be less like you…this is something different. Got it!"

"Got what?"

The Doctor held up a small machine triumphantly. "This is what will tell us what they are. If they've evolved or changed through interbreeding or anything else, this will tell us. It can scan an organism's substance and tell us exactly how far removed it is from a species and suggest why. Here."

The Doctor walked over passed the machine to Rose. He was standing right next to her. She could feel his breath on her cheek as he talked. Still no butterflies. "Druem's taken a liking to you. All you need is a sample from him. Hair or skin cells will do nicely."

"I'm not spying on him Doctor." Rose said, stepping away.

"I'm not asking you to spy on him. I'm just asking you to take some of his cells."

"Well I'm not doing it."

"You could prove me wrong."

Rose thought for a second then headed towards the door.

"Coming then?"

_For an advanced society they don't have very much technology_, Rose thought, approaching the town, lit with torches rather than electricity. The Doctor had said they weren't modernised, but not even electricity?

"Rose." Druem said coming out of the shadows.

"Druem." She said, watching the light from the torches dance on his face.

"Where is the Doctor?"

Rose shrugged. "He said he wanted to look around the town first, to get a feeling of the place."

"If you would like I know somewhere we can watch the celebrations…alone." He offered his arm to her and she gladly took it, following him up the stairs behind the building in which she could hear people talking and dancing. They reached what Rose assumed was another room of the building below. It overlooked the festivity. She felt the weight of the machine in her handbag as she put it down, and made the decision then not go through with it. She wasn't going to spy on the man she fancied.

"Rose, you are very beautiful." He said, facing her.

She smiled and stepped towards him. "Thankyou."

"That's why I'm sorry."

It was only then she saw the rock he had picked up. _Why?_ She thought as her world went black.

She woke up in a dark room. She tried to move her arms and realised that they were tied together and to the chair which her legs were also attached to. She tried to remember what happened, her head throbbing. _The Doctor, harvest celebrations, Druem. Druem._

"Bastard." She cursed under her breath. She wondered how many hours she had been unconscious for. Did the Doctor even know she was gone?

"Doctor!"

The lights in the room suddenly went on.

"Awake are we?" Druem said, his voice in the same singing rhythm it had been when they first met.

"What have you done to me?" Rose replied, squinting as her eyes adjusted to the light.

"Nothing…yet. I suppose you want to know why I've taken you hostage."

Rose remained silent.

"I know of your Doctor. Not in that face, but that makes no difference. His technology could make me a rich man."

"This is for money."

"Of course it is. Everything is, when you come down to it. And the Doctor is suitably attached to you. Enough for me to have an advantage in our…dealings."

"Who are you?"

"Does it matter? The only thing that's important now is that I am going to be_ very_ rich. But that's all you need to know."

He walked away and Rose was plunged back into darkness.

"Doctor!"

The Doctor stood in the front of Tierna, the woman who was the Calromians equivalent of a mayor.

"Where is she?" The Doctor demanded.

"I told you I do not know."

"I know she went to the harvest celebrations last night."

"No one saw her there."

"Someone obviously saw her." The Doctor said, holding up the ransom note he had found near the TARDIS the morning after the celebrations.

"We're doing everything we can to find her, but this is a peaceful planet. We aren't equipped for this sort of situation. The only thing I can suggest is give the person what they want."

"If I gave them the TARDIS technology they could take Rose anywhere. She'd never be seen again."

The woman shrugged. "She could be anywhere now. It's the only chance you have."

"I can't give them the TARDIS."

"Then I'm sorry. I will get volunteers together to search houses and offer a reward but other than that there is little I can do. I suggest you just follow the instructions on the note and we'll try our best to find her."

The Doctor turned and left without an answer. He had to find her, and if it meant he had to turn every house in the town upside down then he would do exactly that.

Sunset. That was what the note had said, so now the Doctor was waiting on the outskirts of the town, in front of the TARDIS, waiting.

"Miss her?"

The Doctor spun around but couldn't see anyone. There were no plants or houses in this area. No where someone could have been hiding.

The voice laughed. "I'm not there Doctor. Voice technology."

"From the family Halds."

"Know them?"

"Yes. They disappeared after coming into contact with what people swore was a shape shifter. You."

The voice laughed again. "You've figured me out already. But unfortunately for you that isn't going to help you get Rose back."

"What do you want?"

"You know what I want Doctor. The technology the TARDIS holds could change the universe. And I'm going to be the one naming the price."

"How do you know about the TARDIS?"

"I know all about you. You are quite the shape changer. Not as good as me though."

"Modest too. I will find you."

"I wouldn't count on it."

"I could kill you before you were ever even born." The Doctor spat angrily.

"But you won't. I know all about you and your moral fibre. You won't kill me while I am still innocent. If you want her back leave the key with the TARDIS."

"Don't underestimate me, _Druem._" The Doctor said violently. "You've got Rose, and you have no idea what I will do to get her back."

"I'll be watching you try."

The Doctor felt the shift in the air and knew he was gone. He headed back toward the town, knowing exactly what he would do.

Rose had given up screaming long ago. She had no idea where she was, or how long she had been gone, but she knew that wherever she was it was far from anywhere that anyone was able to rescue her. Druem, if that really was his name, came and went, but never stayed for long. He never said anything. He gave her small portions of food and water and had put a gag on her, but otherwise ignored her. She wondered once or twice how he could get inside her head like he had. It became obvious that he had known that she would be attracted to him – his plan would not have worked otherwise – but how? She had hoped for the first few hours that the Doctor would come and save her, but as the hours wore on she found it harder to believe that she would be saved. This time it had gone too far.

The Doctor stood in the position he had heard the voice from. He had known the Halds family, and their technology, well. Their machines for throwing voices were not particularly strong. Druem had to be on the outskirts of the town. Tierna had gotten all of the houses in the town searched (the Calromians being, as always, hospitable), but with no avail. The Doctor scanned the houses closest to him. All were basic single storey houses, made with the same brown substance too hard to be mud and too smooth to be brick.

"Where are you?" he whispered to himself.

He found himself staring at a sign on the back of one of the houses, so faded that the words "Calrome Wine" could only just be read. It was only when he read it he understood the significance of it.

"Got you."

The Doctor opened the door that was not even locked. The house had been deserted long ago.

"Rose?" he called. No answer.

He scanned the room but could see no entrance to the wine cellar below. Moving into one of the back rooms, only one thing remained in the empty room. A rug. The Doctor yanked it back to reveal a heavily bolted trapdoor. Using his sonic screwdriver to open the lock the door itself opened easily. Someone had been using it regularly.

"Rose?" he called again. He heard muffled sounds and moved quickly down the ladder.

There she was. Rose. Dirty and terrified, but alive. He rushed over and undid the ropes that tied her to the seat. Rose got up slowly, her legs numb from being tied.

"About time you got here." Rose said, wrapping her arms around his neck in a hug. Tears came to her eyes as she realised she would be safe, but quickly blinked them back. "Thankyou."

"Anytime." The Doctor said, grinning, but quickly regaining his composure. "Where's Druem?"

"I don't know. He's hardly ever down here."

"He hasn't been in town either, so he must still be in the here. Are you okay to come up back into the house?"

"Yeah, I'll be fine. I just want to get him."

Rose and the Doctor climbed back up into the house and began their search. It didn't take them long to find the small, half hidden door in the furthest room from the front. The Doctor tried the doorknob. Surprisingly it opened. Druem could not have looked more surprised if he had tried. His once perfect features contorted in anger. He lunged at the Doctor, but he caught his arm first and pushed him back into the chair.

"I have some questions for you and you're not leaving until we have answers, understood?"

Druem fumed silently.

"What are you?"

"A Calromian."

"Calromians, unlike you, are _friendly_. They don't go around kidnapping people. So what are you?"

Rose's eyes widened as his figure changed before her. He morphed from a handsome but brutal looking Calromian to a much smaller green tinged figure, with a tiny mouth and webbed fingers. She laughed. "That's it? You're my great captor?"

"You can laugh but I will always be the one who caught you. You couldn't beat me."

"But we just did." The Doctor said. "And I'm guessing it was your vertical impairment that started all this."

"My species may be small but we can be great. We may rarely leave our home planet but people will know through me how powerful we can truly be."

"So you used other people's technology. You're nothing but a thief."

"I only stole their ideas. It was only in my use of them that they became objects of power."

"Power? You don't have any _power_. We defeated you. I hardly even needed this." The Doctor said, holding up his sonic screwdriver.

The Doctor walked over and picked Druem up by the arm, removing the ring on his finger.

"Mind charm. Allows him to become what he most wants and to know what others desire." He said, throwing it to Rose. "You're coming with us. I think Tierna would love to know where you've been and will probably make sure you will never do anything like it again. Calrome may not need a jail but I'm sure you're wanted on more than one planet, which are probably no where near as nice. I doubt you'll ever be free again."

Druem remained silent in the Doctor's hand as he strode towards the door. Rose walked behind him, smirking at Druem as he turned to look at her. He really was pathetic, but now he couldn't fool anyone else.

"How are you feeling?" The Doctor asked Rose when they were back in the TARDIS after handing Druem into Tierna.

"Much better than I did in the cellar, that's for sure. It's good to be back."

"Of course it is, you've got me here."

Rose mirrored his grin. The butterflies in her stomach were back. She watched his lean figure as he leaned against the controls. As bad as angst could be, lusting after an alien she trusted was much better than fancying her future kidnapper.

"So where would you like to go now?" he asked. "Your choice."

"Somewhere I won't get kidnapped would be nice.

"About that…I should have known something was wrong with Druem. I'm sorry."

"You did know, and I ignored you, remember? I guess this means I should take you more seriously now."

"Not at all. I can't stand when people take things too seriously. Life should be one big adventure!"

"So where's the adventure going to be next?"

"I asked you first." The Doctor grinned.

"Okay…the Spice Girls concert."

"The what?"

"You've been nearly everywhere and you haven't heard of the Spice Girls?"

"I've heard of them when I was on Earth, but why of all the places in the universe you could go would you want to go there?"

"Do you have any idea how hard the tickets were to get to their concert ro how much I loved them when I was younger? I would have killed to go to their concert. And now we've got your psychic paper to get us in. Besides that it'll be fun after all the drama here. What could go wrong at a Spice Girls concert?"

"You'd be surprised. But you had the choice, so England 1999 it is. Spice Girls, here we come."


End file.
